The Prodigy: Season 1
by AFriendlyNeighborhoodDog2
Summary: Naruto is the only person to become a Konoha Genin at the age of six besides Hatake Kakashi. Strong, Smart!Naruto, someOOC!NarutoCharacters, Dark!Naruto, Genius!Naruto, Senjutsu!Naruto. (Sorry if the reviews are off!)
1. SS: READ THIS FIRST!

Hey guys! This is my story, The Prodigy; well, the first season at least. It spans from the humble and not-so-humble beginnings of Uzumaki Naruto. Now, if it doesn't look anymore like I'm going to go off on a tangent about Naruto, I think I will!

He goes throughout his life, learning how to be less loud and a bit more cool with his immaturity getting the better of him sometimes. As for his skills? His skills are far developed, beyond any genin his age, and he learns that strength and speed along with good ninjutsu and other skills are nothing without combining them; something he has major trouble with.

Anyway, he is the better man when it comes to rivalries and friends; people look up to him and respect him because his father is the Hokage. He hides and waits behind that mask of respect and power to strike the hearts of everyone he meets.

He also as a good talent for keeping the peace, something you will see later.

Anyway, to start off the story, I thought I'd say those things**.**

Okay.

Rules: Be kind with your reviewing, follow and favorite if you like the story so much and want to read it again, and vote on every poll you can. Sometimes you may be able to select more than one options.

(Also, as a little note, you might see out of date author notes that will state plans for the future that I have ruled out. This is because I wrote this author note after them. I hope you read and understand this message.)

Um... one more thing. The last chapter to this season will be posted shortly after this has been posted, and my feats will be explained in an other author note labeled, "SE: R/R, Feats, and Poll/R" (the R's stand for Review, Replies, and Results in that order).

That's it everybody! Have a fun time reading!


	2. C0: The Prodigy

Check my profile for polls for this and other series, you guys!

XXX

Our story starts out with a boy, fair-haired and small. As we see the blond silhouette in the darkness in the somewhat tamed surroundings, (a training field organized for training purposes,) we see him smirk. "Okay dad... I'm ready!" he exclaimed to no one as he pulled out a set of two, strange knives with three prongs. The boy expected an answer back from what looked to be his father; "Walk to your right and you'll set off the kunai trap I set up." the boy turned to the tallest tree to his right and gave a nervous glance to shadowed man upon it. "You can do this, son." said the father in the darkness. Naruto stepped 3 meters back and got ready for a running flip onto the trap he could see in the darkness, and somewhat sense, too. "3," went the father, Naruto got ready to flip onto the trap. "2,' He started to run, "Too soon! God Naruto, you're too eager!"

But Naruto wasn't listening. He flipped onto the trap and hidden machines started to throw kunai toward him from all his sides, everywhere but the front, however all he was doing was just standing there, holding out the two kunai as the mechanically thrown kunai pelted on top of the knives and bounced off respectively. He tried not to let the clanging of knives from all directions tear his grip on the two in his hands; this was a test of his strength and endurance. "Naruto!" said his father in a scolding voice; "They're starting to move!" Naruto started running forward; now it was a test of precision with his speed. Naruto kept running until the front diagonal stream became at his left and right. He stopped, with his arms still up, and took the rest of the hits as they soon came to a stop.

"Now Naruto, it's time for the ultimate test. You know what to do!"

By then, Naruto was panting with his arms hanging down. He soon got to his feet and stood in a T. He closed his eyes. Now it was a time to test his senses; he heard the whooshing of wind, and judged when it would be on him with the sound of the wind drawing nearer, and soon brought his arms together and caught the giant shuriken in between his two kunai. He let it fall to the ground. "Good job! You've done well! I think you're ready to graduate, my son." Naruto smirked widely. "Heh, yeah man!" he said.

He had done the impossible; he had become a great ninja when they said he could never become one at such a young age. Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze made sure he would only graduate after one year in the academy, promising his old lover, Uzumaki Kushina a feat only Hatake Kakashi could accomplish. Now he could not only block a hail of kunai, but a Giant Shuriken by just bringing his arms together. He was ready…


	3. C1: Coming Home

Hi guys.

Thank you to my first reviewer, who was kind enough to review. If you want to see his/her name and/or review, go to the review section.

I thank Angelix onix luna (who I think read and favorited/followed Master of Dreams and Illusions, but I'm not sure), for favoriting and following my story, and fco ala, for being a longtime fan who favorited this story as well as The Blond Master of Seals (I can tell by the favorite history from The Blond Master of Seals. Remember? Back in January…), ArchAngel-Kagome (I'd have to look at the list and see if he/she is new), for following this story, Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahah (whose name I didn't type :3), for following… and I'd like to thank you all for supporting me through your views! Thanks, 'ppreciate it :3

Okay, on with the story!

XXX

That was years ago, when the Hokage's son was only 6 years old. His father was proud and doted him constantly… but it was short-lived, for he knew he would have to be a man one day. He sought to end the doting once Jiraiya, his old sensei came back into town a year later. "You sure you want me to take him, Minato? He's a bit young to take him away from his only living family, you know."

"No… it's his calling, I feel. Naruto feels the same, ever since his mum died."

"Well, Kushina would have wanted for him to get to know his dad a bit more… he's only a kid, and you weren't in his life until he was 5."

"I can't be the father she wanted me to be for him…"

"Suit yourself, Minato. Come on, Naruto."

XXX

Naruto spent many years training at Mount Myoboku, for one day he would be a toad sage; strong, noble, and courageous like the toads of the mount. With much of the balance, patience, and form he learnt, he made a warrior out of himself. When he was 12, it was time to go back, and he was ready to go.

XXX

"Dad! I'm home!" said Naruto as he came into his home he had long since forgotten about over the five years he was away. The dining room table was still smack dab in the middle of his home, with the green couches to his left. To his right was the kitchen, divided off by a wall and to the back of him was a hall leading out to the front door and bedrooms.

"Naruto!"

His dad came up to greet him, putting one hand on his shoulder and smiling widely. "I was just about to head off to work; you have to go to the academy to get your team, okay?"

"Okay, dad… I thought we could spend the day together." said Naruto awkwardly.

"Maybe another time, kay?"

XXX

Naruto walked the village streets, not being paid attention to by the passersby, and soon enough he reached the Academy where he would get his genin squad.

He entered the front doorway, went down the hall to the classroom he was told to enter. "Ah, you must be Naruto." said the ponytailed sensei who greeted him at the door. He ushered him into the classroom first, started walking ahead of him until he came to Naruto's right side. "Welcome to our classroom, Naruto-sama."

The class looked at him dumbstruck on how adult he looked. Naruto had on a flame Haori, and a light orange and blue track shirt with an Uzumaki-symbol tassel on it, along with khaki shorts. He wore his hair long and in a sense looked like his father Minato, only his face and eyes were rounder and more innocent looking; that fact made the girls drool.

Iruka soon spoke up, "Naruto-sama is the Hokage's son. He's been specially trained for many years personally by one of the Sannin and was quite the prodigy when he was in the Academy as well. He's a very good ninja and is already a genin but he's had little to no real fighting experience with real enemies. He is here to gain experience with a team and will be learning how to work with a team on decent terms."

The class stayed silent as he introduced himself, "It's uh, very nice to meet you all, I guess."

The class chuckled a bit. "That's enough," said Iruka. "Alright, take your seat next to Sakura and you may all speak for another 10 minutes."


	4. Author Note for the Former C2

Hi guys.

I'm sorry… I made this look like a NaruSaku fic somewhat last chapter by making him sit next to her. Though trust me, you will see a pairing, and it won't be NaruSaku if I can help it. I'm still deciding on whom to pair him up with however. If this story get's bigger and I get a lot of reviews then maybe I'll do a poll or just simply (and this is what I want to do more…) ask you guys to review on the story, saying which pairing you want.

Here is a list of pairings that I want to do or just some pairings other people want. Don't worry, if comment now on who you want, I'll count that in as a vote later on if I decide to take votes (you can also ask personally in your review if you don't want me to).

NaruHina (Kinda typical, not really my fav.)

NaruFemHaku (Someone suggested this in the reviews, and frankly I kind of like the idea.)

NaruFemKyuubi (Although someone suggested this, I really don't know how I'll do it outside the realm of Naruto talking to himself.)

NaruSaku (For kicks… give me your thoughts)

NaruIno (Another because I know some people actually like it like that… dunno why…)

NaruOC (Could make an OC later for Naruto if that is what ye desire.)

And if you want me to really go nuts, I'll do NaruFemIta or a yaoi pairing. Give me your thoughts on that… lol.

Okay? I'd like to thank kat1316, whom I didn't see was following my story at the time I posted the next part of the story, and spartan593, for also following my story.

I thank my new reviewer, as well as my other reviewer who reviewed on this chapter. That person happened to be the one I was talking about last chapter who reviewed on the last chapter as well. Check the review page for their names.

Oh and Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahah, as for Iruka saying –sama to Naruto, Naruto's a bit OOC because he was raised in the shining, sparkling light that is the Hokage for two years and he sort of let it go to his head, despite the background you will hear about within this chapter. Also… he's a bit shier because he wasn't around a lot of people for 5 years of his life and so because of that, he never acted out, yelled out of turn, or played the pranks that made him who he was in the series. I know… bad trade-off, right? But he's so much more interesting now.

Let's get on with the story, kay?


	5. C2: A New Enemy!

Thank you, En-sabbah-nor for following, and thank you NipponHoshi, for also following… your contribution is much appreciated.

On with the Story!

XXX

When Iruka made sure the class's attention was directly on him by clearing his throat, the class started and was called to order. "Alright, Now I will call out the teams."

"Team 1."

XXX

"Team 7."

Out of all the children that had left to go outside for lunch, Naruto and Sakura were some one of the only ones left, along with the rest of the children he thought were from clans. He looked quite happy. 'Exceptional ninja… and I could be on a team with Sakura-chan. The only guy who's been looking confused by me now looks like that Uchiha guy that Sakura-chan's been eying. I know I don't want be on a team with him…'

"Uzumaki, Naruto."

Naruto looked up as Iruka called his name.

"Haruno, Sakura."

Naruto smiled and so did his new friend Sakura.

"Uchiha, Sasuke."

Just then, the Uchiha-boy who Naruto thought was confused by him stood up and proceeded to exit the room.

Iruka sighed and said, "You are excused."

XXX

"Hey, Sasuke!" said Naruto, confronting him sitting along upon a highway somewhere connecting two parts of the academy.

"What do you want?" said the boy.

Sasuke was wearing a blue collar-shirt, Khaki pants, and blue ninja sandals, along with white, full forearm-protectors. His hair was set up in a ducktail, with two tufts of hair hanging down; he also had the natural traits of an Uchiha which was raven hair and eyes.

"Shinobi Kumite. Right now. No Jutsu. No weapons. Just hand to hand taijutsu sparing."

"I don't want to fight… that would just be a waste of my time."

"I want to know what I'm dealing with when I'm dealing with Konoha's last Uchiha."

"I've never told anyone that here. Most people don't even know my full name. If you haven't noticed… rumors don't spread here like they do around the village… everyone at the Academy is on a first name basis, even if rumors spread about their families or clans. Everyone either knows me as most popular or the guy who lost his parents in some way. I guess you heard about the mass-slaughter my brother did to my clan, no?"

Naruto nodded. "I heard about it before I left with Jiraiya, my sensei."

"Oh. Well, I want to know why you acknowledge me… you can't possibly know how I feel."

"I accept you as a worthy adversary. Dattebayo!"

"Well, whatever… you've amused me."

As Naruto sensed he was about to attack, he heard a voice call out to the boy he was talking to. "Sasuke-kun~!" said the familiar girly voice; Naruto saw this as the perfect time to show off to Sakura.

Sasuke was using his insane speed to run in hook fashion to get behind his back, although Naruto felt like the world slowing down; it was a learnt skill he had learned to recognize when he first started his Senjutsu training. Naruto was going two-times the speed Sasuke was going, fortunately, however Sasuke was still getting in mid-kick and Naruto just barely touched his leg of and jumped five meters back.

Sasuke was left kicking the air and stumbled. Sasuke started running toward him… he was getting angry. Naruto moved just in time for Sasuke to miss a full body tackle with his fist, (it seemed like Sasuke was using his full speed now), and Naruto palmed him in the side. He went tumbling to the stone bench below.

Sasuke's nostrils were flaring, "So… fast… Goddamn…"

"Sasuke-kun!" said Sakura, running up to him, but not knowing what else to say.

"I thought the Uchiha were supposed to be strong… mmm…" said Naruto cockily.

"..." Sasuke stayed silent.

"Naruto! You're so reckless, why did you hurt my Sasuke-kun?"

"W-What? So this is the boy you like. If he was most popular then I thought he ought to be good." Naruto smirked, "I was only using an eighth of my speed… let alone my full range of speed that I have with my senjutsu. I have something to say."

"Enough!" said Sakura, "I hate you!"

Naruto's heart sank as she ran away crying… "W-Wait, Sakura-chan!" he said. "Cusso… I'm sorry…"

"So, you like her, huh?" said Sasuke, calming down. "That's a shame; she won't even look at you now that you beat me up. Trust me, this is not over! I will succeed in taking you down one day, mark my words."

Naruto threw a glare and said nothing…


	6. C3: Oh, Sensei, Not Another One!

To 13bluetears, TEBOJEM (who also faved), and badboy805 (who also faved), I'd like to thank you for following (and TEBOJEM and Kat1316 for reviewing), and MikeTheGreek for favoriting.

Oh and TEBOJEM, I wanted to explain his past in Chapter 2 originally, and Sakura was the only way to do that unfortunately. Also, about the chapter size… that can be arranged. Expect longer chapters and more more consistent pace in later chapters, (but not this one since I rushed it).

Sorry if there are any errors. I couldn't run it through spell check since it's just too late at night for that :P

On with the story!

XXX

The three were waiting within the confines of the classroom; it was hours later, and still their sensei had not arrived. "Man… what's taking him so long!" said Sakura.

"Dunno... maybe he's running a bit late?" said Naruto.

"A little bit apparently is too long for you, Sakura." said Sasuke.

She angrily turned head away from the both of them, "Heh! Like I give a crap."

Naruto looked to Sasuke intently; he just shrugged.

"Hello." said the silver-haired man who entered the room, "My first impression on you three… hm, I wonder..."

"We don't care, just tell us what to do and where to go." said Sakura.

"There's a sensible girl! Meet me on the roof whenever you see fit."

XXX

"Okay… how about we introduce ourselves. State your names, likes and dislikes, hobbies and dreams for the future, starting with blondy."

The three were on the roof of the Academy, sitting in the fashion of Naruto sitting on the right of the silver-haired man, with Sasuke on the left and Sakura in the middle.

"U-uh… hi. I'm Uzumaki N-Naruto. I like eating, sleeping, and watching TV even though I haven't done it in a while. I dislike weak opponents, like Sasuke, and I also dislike being held back by people who don't know how fight or even hold their own in a battle. My hobbies… well, I like a lot of training I guess. I haven't eaten normal food in so long… I trained on Mount Myoboku for years on end by the way, and the only thing they ate there was giant bugs, (Sakura's neck cringed and her throat let out something crossed between a scream and a gag). My dream is to be acknowledged by everyone in the village, so they'll stop mistreating me and treating me like filth."

"Very good. You seem like the interesting kind of boy." said the silver-haired man. Naruto turned an interesting shade of pink. "You next, pinky."

Naruto had to discern for a minute who he was talking to, however Sakura knew who he was talking about and said, "My name is Haruno Sakura, and I like… I mean, the person I like is… Mrph!" she slammed her fists down on the front of her mandarin dress and blushed a deep scarlet.

"Well, what do you dislike?"

"NARUTO!" she said loudly.

Naruto's heart sank.

"Okay that's enough. Let's talk to raven-san over there."

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke… I hate everything, and don't like anything… I don't have any hobbies, and my dream is not a dream. It's an ambition, and my ambition is to kill a certain man. I refuse to acknowledge anyone who stands in my way."

Naruto thought as his heart sank again, "So… that's what he's getting at."

"Sensei!" said Sakura as Naruto came out of his thought. "You haven't introduced yourself yet."

"My name is Hatake Kakashi… I like a lot of things I don't feel like talking about, and I don't dislike a lot of things, my hobbies are none of you concern, and I haven't really thought about my dreams for the future." said Kakashi, "Alright… Meet at training ground 107 tomorrow at 9:30 for a cross-examination on your skills. That way we'll be able to really understand each individual for their own strengths. Think of it as survival training."

"Kakashi-sensei!" said Sakura. "We've already did tests! You should know all about us by now… don't you sensei you get profiles on your students?"

"Well yes… but there's another reason for this test. He-he..." he said cryptically with a wicked smile.

"What?" said Sakura confusedly.

"Well, you really don't want to know this… but I'll tell you." said Kakashi. "Out the 27 ge nin that graduation, only 9 will actually make the cut in order to be real, proper ninja!"

The mouths dropped open. "Hahaha! I told you, you wouldn't like it."


	7. C4: Slight-NaruHina

Hey guys. To my long time reviewer… I have no idea how to begin to thank Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahah for taking such an active role in reviewing; your spontaneous attitude is a very energizing when I read your reviews.

Unfortunately, at the time I checked this morning, I didn't have any new follows and favorites, therefore I will not be giving out credit to anyone who favorited and followed after that until next chapter. Sorrry…

As for you, Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahah, I already screwed up the whole Femitanaru thing because said in Sasuke's dialogue he was a boy. So, therefore… I couldn't have possibly made Femitanaru (nor did I want to lol :3).

Also, yes, that's exactly what I felt like about Naruto's mask he's hiding behind when you brought it up. Before just couldn't put it to words. Thank you for bringing that to light :3

Okay, in the current standings, from the pairings I want to do most to the least, (don't get upset), here are the pairings.

Femhakunaru, 1

Naruhina, Naruino, 1 (I'm writing these together because I can either diverge from Femhakunaru for a bit, then do both or one or the other for a slight moment in time.)

NaruOC (not one of you has voted on a side character OC (I'm notoriously good for making bearable OCs when the time is right). What I might do is make Naruto have a sister and do some incessssst… lol :3)

Narusaku, 0 (I'm suggesting Narusaku since Naruto's on her team and it would be easy. I might have some moments like Kishimoto did in his story.)

Femkyuubinaru (even though I'm turned off to the idea of Naruto sweet talking to a lady fox in his head, I might do some slight, romancey filler dialogue with her in the future however, which is most of what fanfic writers ever do.)

And if you want it, I might do some Onesided-Ita-friggen-Naruto (I'm going make Naruto primarily straight unless I get to many Yaoi votes, Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahah.)

By the way, anyone can vote multiple times, it's just you can only have one or two votes per character (you can only vote twice for the same character once because I want everyone to show me their favorite pairing). You can also vote at any time of the series… it's just that I'll have to do some finagling out of a one pairing to the next. Just remember, IF I DO YAOI, then I will be very inexperienced and all my ideas for straight pairings above will be null and void.

On with the story!

(Oh, and btw! I have an Archive of Our Own account now! Right now, I'm going to take a break and post this story revised and eventually I'll start posting new chapters even before it even reaches fanfiction on that particular site. Okay? Now, this time it's for real; on with the story!)

XXX

Naruto was walking to training field 107 around lunch time, as his dad had spoken to him about, and stopping to look at the giggling girls, when he saw one that didn't look too sure what to think about walking out of a convenience store with a frozen popsicle… he slyly walked up to the girl.

"Uh, hey… um, didn't I see you at the academy?"

The nervous girl blushed and said nothing. "I'm the Hokage's kid if you hadn't noticed."

"S-Sorry… I w-was, um, j-just on the way to my examination."

"Oh, no biggy, we'll walk there together." said Naruto, and she turned scarlet.

"D-Don't you have to get to your e-exam?"

"I'm actually getting there early."

The girl blushed and said nothing until moments later. "L-Let's walk together then."

"Show me the way!" said Naruto happily.

They started walking at once.

It was then when Naruto had just come out of his element when things got a little more casual… "S-So, um… who's your sensei?"

"Yuhi Kurenai…" said the girl shyly as she let the Popsicle melt in her hands, then she turned and asked, "U-Um… w-want a half?"

"S-Sure… I love these things. My mum used to get me them all the time when I was good." The girl laughed feebly, "O-Oh… I haven't matured much by the way… I lived away from society on a mountain for 5 years."

"Oh! N-No… it's just, my mom used to buy me them when I was good… when she was alive, you know." said the girl, breaking the Popsicle and handing him half. She looked to him, smiling.

"I lost my mum, too. It was sad, really… I was only five at the time and I had little memory of her." said Naruto, taking a small bite.

"Emmm… w-well, I-I'm s-sorry… I wouldn't have guessed." said the girl, biting her pop reluctantly.

"Um, I just have a question; do you look up to your sensei at all yet? My sensei's a hack." said Naruto, taking another bite.

"Emhm… Y-Yes. She's a very strong genjutsu user. She's a-also a v-very good woman. I like her." she said.

"Cool." he said simply.

The girl giggled, "You know, when I first laid eyes on you, I saw the pain of a boy who didn't have much, and that didn't make sense at first because I knew you were the Hokage's son. But now I know that was wrong… you lost a lot, losing your mom. My dad doesn't even care about me. If I ever see you again tell you the full story, okay?" she said surprisingly confident for her disposition. It seemed like she just realized that too, and immediately shied away.

"My dad didn't even care about me for a while. You either just gotta be so pathetic you're pitied, which I know won't work for you, or you have to show him what you're made of. Show strong potential and strong determination. I wouldn't be as strong as I am today without hard work and dedication." said Naruto, smiling widely at scouring for a trashcan; he found one and the girl followed. They put their Popsicle sticks in the trash, turned to face each other, and Naruto said, "Are my lips blue? I hate it when they get like that."

"N-No… you're okay!"

"Thanks, yours aren't either."

"_This boy isn't trying to be cool, but he is… I… I don't really care when I'm around him… I even spoke all those words without stuttering… and what's this feeling I'm getting that something's just not right?" the girl thought._

Eventually, she realized she was staring, looked down, and twiddled her fingers. Naruto could read her face of confusion and said, "Hey, no problem, whatever you're upset about!"

She looked up and smiled. "Thank you…" she said tenderly, "Oh and my name's Hinata… Hyuuga Hinata…"

"Uzumaki Naruto, at your service!" he said with a princey bow.

"Um…" said Hinata.

"Yeah?" he replied

"Nothing…"

"Can you walk the rest of the way?" said Naruto, beaming.

Hinata twiddled her fingers again, but Naruto waited for a reply even still, "Yes…" she said finally. Naruto took off with the back of his hand raised, "Oi! See you around, Hinata."

Hinata didn't even notice that they had taken off to training ground number 107, where she saw Sakura, Sasuke, and a man she didn't know waiting for him with scowls.

XXX

"Hi guys."

"Who was that girl you were with?" said Sakura.

"Why?" said Naruto.

Sakura walked up to him in rage and threw her fist at him, but missed as he dodged.

"Grr…!" said Sakura as Sasuke and Kakashi grabbed her arms.

"Now's not the time for that." said Kakashi, "I'm sure your father told you I'd be fashionably late as usual, no? I didn't have to wait that long, of course, but you kept these two wondering if you'd ever show up."

Sakura stopped struggling and whispered to herself, "Make a play on two girls in a 24 hour period, why don't you. Insolent boy!"

"I wasn't making a play." said Naruto sincerely and innocently with a blink.

Sakura cracked an insane, purple angry-anime face. She wanted to punch him so bad but she knew Sasuke and Kakashi wouldn't let her do it, so she reduced to a deafening groan.

XXX

Hey guys… I tried to make a longer chapter. I also tried a longer scene, where the pace was slow… you know, the Naruhina scene. I hope my pacing was a little bit better… I didn't rush it like I would have normally done.

I'll make more Minato interaction in the future, but for now, that's all folks! Cya later!


	8. C5: Easy as Teamwork

Thank you to XxPokemonMasterxX for favoriting my story, Firedragon99 for also favoriting my story, and lastly pinkiceangelbaby, who also favorited my story. I'd also like to thank my one follower, marale-chan, who favorited this last week.

As for the reviewers, I will call you out individually.

Kat1316/Kat (who I think reviewed twice as a guest and one time as a user); since everyone wants a Yaoi pairing, here's what I'll do in this order (WARNING! SPOILERS!):

1. Make Haku a female, do FemHakuNaru for the full (Land of Waves Arc).

2. Throw in some HinaNaru and InoNaru, and eventually do HinaNaruIno, (a love triangle basically) and then make both of them hate Naruto for a little while for dating two girls at the same time. (Chunin Exams Arc)

3. Make an Uke Sasu (or Seme, you decide) confess his feelings that I will build up, and let Naru tear them down. (The Chunin Exams Arc is long gone by then and we are now in the 'Return of Itachi' sub-arc. We also see some Ita-friggen-Naru if I can fit it in.)

4. After the (Search for Tsunade Arc), we then lead up to the moment in time SasGAY leaves the village to be with his *creepy* pedo teacher. Naruto goes after him and realizes he's made a mistake. He realizes that he made the mistake of not being there for a friend, and he slowly starts to open up to Sasuke… (Sasuke Retrieval Arc).

5. (Here comes the real spoiler part, don't read if you don't want to be spoiled.) After all that, he decides he lost someone dear to him, whether he liked him that way or not and *fakes* his own death like a badass and takes off to live in his own darkness. He hopes one day he'll be able to accept himself after all this buildup that happens throughout series between him and Sasuke and hopefully come back one day to face his destiny back in the village, whether if it be death or salvation.

As for Mr. Guest that commented about a Seme Zabuza and an Uke Naruto pairing, I wouldn't want to do something as random as that, unfortunately (as you can see above).

Ok… for Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahah, I have only a couple things to say. Yes it is guise about his spoiled behavior that she (Hinata) sees, but she's also seeing his darkness and suffering within his heart, and how he tries to cover it up being the happy, calm-cool-collected child of the Hokage, much like how Sasuke hides behind his cool and brooding disposition. She also sees one more thing about him… (The Kyuubi but just doesn't know it yet).

Also, as for the Ita-friggen-Naru, I'll be doing that in the later seasons when everything becomes for Akatsuki-oriented. Okay?

That should be all the reviewers; hope that answers your questions and you keep reviewing!

Bye now!

XXX

After they had stood in front of the three stumps with their backs turned toward them, set in the training field with Sasuke closest to the left stump, Sakura near the right and Naruto in the middle, Kakashi soon spoke with eagerness, holding up two tiny, silver objects that looked to be bells.

Kakashi gave a smile under his ninja facemask. "The rules of the Survival Examination are simple. Get a bell by sundown, you pass. Don't get a bell, and you get tied to a stump. All of you could possibly fail, by the way… and if one or all of you don't get a bell, you'll be sent back to the Academy for remedial classes."

"But Kakashi-sensei!" said Sakura, "If you only have two bells, then that means…"

"One of us will fail." said Naruto.

"Right… so, start when you're ready…" said Kakashi now closing his eyes while smiling, "Scuttle off now."

Sakura and Sasuke took off into the trees and proceeded to hide, while Naruto decided to stay.

"Oh? And are you the one who's going to take a bell first? Or are you going to kindly hide like the rest of them."

Naruto grunted, "Look, Kakashi-sensei, I'm going to take that bell from you in one shot. Don't hold your breath."

"... Well… how will you do that?" said Kakashi. Although he remembered back to what Minato said. '_Senjutsu is a fickle thing. Don't underestimate it.'_

His eyes changed into that of a toad's, and Naruto slammed into Kakashi's stomach. It was then, kneeling down to his sensei who had been writhing in pain on the ground, Naruto took a bell and shrugged.

"Easy."

Pretty soon, Sasuke and Sakura ran out of the bushes trying to steal the last bell, but Naruto was too fast and took the last bell for Sakura, who gladly took it when he handed it to her.

Sasuke's heart was writhing in what seemed to be pity for Kakashi, who was still on the ground, and Naruto, in dreading anger for actually being stronger than him.

Naruto put out one hand to bring Kakashi up to his feet, and Kakashi grabbed it. Naruto heaved effortlessly and he was the first to speak. "How about a do over for Sakura and Sasuke? Sakura still passes, while Sasuke gets another chance."

"Oi, Naruto," he said quickly and angrily, "I wasn't expecting that, and I will be sure not to underestimate you this next time because you will be fighting as well."

"As long as we all get a fair chance to pass. If you don't have a spare bell, I'll transform one of my shadow clones into one."

"That would be appropriate…" said Kakashi.

XXX

Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke were all within their hiding places when Kakashi had recovered from the blow to the stomach (though not completely it seems because of his grasp upon his belly), but what he didn't know about the three was that they had had a secret meeting in the forest to discuss a plan in which they could pursue their prey.

XXX

(Flashback!)

In the forest, Naruto was calling to order the two stooges as he liked to think of them as, and his smile cracked into a wide grin. "Figured it out yet?"

"Huh? Is that why you called us here?" said Sakura, tilting her head in confusion.

"Yes, Sakura." he said slowly. She glared at him.

"Alright, what do you know." said Sasuke.

Naruto closed his eyes and beamed. "Alright… do you get the gist of the exercise?"

"No… we were just supposed to get the bells like he asked us to, but that's not good enough I see." said Sasuke irritably. "If you're just going to repeat the question then you should have answered."

"Well, I thought about it… and I saw our one greatest flaw as a team. Notice I say team."

Sakura threw her palm to her forehead. "Oh… damn… teamwork. I knew it was something like that."

Sasuke looked to her, surprised. "You honestly expect me to work with a team? Every ninja is either just a path, or a person who walks on the path. People die so other people can live, you understand me? So why should I waste my time with a kid who doesn't even know where he's going yet? I have a set path… my destiny. You can't possibly understand that, could you?"

"Look, we all go throughout life and we usually don't know our purposes… I-I…" said Sakura, turning and looking thoroughly shocked to hear his Nindo had been so bleak. "Who are you trying to kill, anyway?"

Sasuke stayed silent.

Naruto glared at him. "Sasuke; you can't just expect everything to be cut in stone. You'll get a headache wondering what's next. You make your own path, despite what you think might happen-"

"Shut up… my ninja way is to find a certain man and kill him. You don't know what it's like, being all alone, losing all you had; you never knew…"

"Can I say I'm looking for revenge, too?" said Naruto darkly.

"On who? You can't possibly-"

"I'm looking for the man that killed my mother." said Naruto.

Sakura spoke up immediately, "You told me she killed herself."

"Never! She never would have… she was suffering, but she was getting better. She and I we're happy in the last days that I saw her. Then, someone broke into our house. I was forced to watch in the corner as the man threw me halfway across the room. I… I can't even remember what happened to our house. I was in the hospital, and when I went to the place where our house was, it was gone… yet I couldn't have proven it; they were already building over it. Now I don't even know where I lived… and it was all because of him. You see my anger? My rage? I hated every moment, not knowing if I'd ever be okay. Then they put me in an orphanage, and even though I never knew who my dad was at that time, I hoped my dad would rescue me, would come for me. But he didn't until I got kicked out."

"And then, it wasn't all happy rainbows and butterflies, either." said Sakura, sniffing a bit.

"No, he worked me to death, and pushed me to the brink. Then, two years later, he threw me out to go train with his sensei. I resented him for that some, but it opened a new world for me. The toads were like my family, and with each passing day I felt like I had a home. But I knew it wouldn't last. Now I have nothing."

"You have me." said Sasuke suddenly, "I never knew you had the same need for revenge against someone that killed a loved one. But one thing I want to confirm… was he a ninja?"

"He was powerful enough to throw me across the room. Yes, he was a ninja."

"Then you may have been dealing with someone powerful, but I don't know who…"

"He had a red eye, like an Uchiha's. I saw it in his mask when I looked at him."

"The attack on the village was years ago, before the Uchiha Massacre… do you remember him well? How old did he look, maybe I know him."

"Well, whoever it was I don't remember him well… he's a bit of a blur now… but I know I'll find him and know him when I see him; he was distinct."' said Naruto. "Alright, here's the plan…"

XXX

"Alright. You can come out now."

Sasuke jumped down from his perch on his tree and started running fast and ran past Kakashi with amazing speed. '_What the? Why isn't he..._'

It was then Naruto came out of nowhere, inching close to him each millisecond and almost kicked him right in the face. Kakashi only knew not to get knocked back, because he knew Sasuke was planning something. In fact, he was planning use Great Fireball Technique to reduce him to a pile of smolder. '_I have to get out of the way. I only have a split second to get back on my feet._'

Naruto followed through with his kick, but missed as Kakashi bridged his back, flew up on one hand and got into one handed handstand, pushing up with his hand to jump into the air, nearly avoiding the incoming shuriken that Sakura threw from her hiding place. When Kakashi landed, he braced his right arm with his left, and bent his elbows to gain momentum for a front flip into the air. He soon as he landed, he turned around, saw Naruto gear up for a Shadow Clone Technique and said, "Stop… you three pass."

"Yeah right, we're not fallin' for it!" went Sakura.

"No, I can tell if he's lying, and he's telling the truth." said Naruto, getting out of his pose.

"How do you know, Naruto?" said Sasuke.

"I can just see it in his eyes."

Kakashi rolled his eyes. '_Sheesh… you'd think these kids would be a bit smarter.'_

"Yosh. You three did excellent in working together. You may have done very little, but it's those little chinks in the gears of fight keep it turning, fueled only by pure expertise and precision. You even had me thinking that I was going to get hurt really badly again. And Naruto… I want you to remember that speed isn't everything in a battle. It's pure guts, flexibility and jutsu that will get you somewhere, but speed and strength are also nice. Notice how I was able to avoid getting hit in the face. I used all of my skills to get out of each and every jam that you put me in."

Naruto grunted and said nothing...

Kakashi continued, "Also, Sakura. Try to not kill your teacher next time."

Sakura put her hands behind her back, kicked some dirt, and stuck her tongue out awkwardly.

"Sasuke, what were you trying to do again?" said Kakashi.

Sasuke went, 'tch' and said, "I was trying to Great Fireball Technique on your ass."

"Ah…" said Kakashi, _'Isn't that a very chakra-consuming jutsu? Then again, he is the Uchiha heir after all…'_

Kakashi continued with a cheery, close-eyed smile. "Alright, tomorrow, we will start missions as Team 7!"


	9. C6: The Demon Brothers!

Hey guys, sorry about the long break I took at the end of October. I just didn't get all that interested because I haven't had a conclusion to a story I wanted to make for the past week now. I've also been talking with this dude; his name is DaOneInDaCorner. What I've been talking to him about is doing a fanfic together; you know, a joint fanfic, as we've been callin' it. What we're planning on doing is trading off every chapter, keeping our writing styles only altered by a set of etiquette rules I came up with, while keeping the flow of the writing relatively the same (hopefully that's what we'll do… we don't communicate real well). How will we write with our own styles with all these barriers? Well, we don't know, but we can certainly try, right? Also… we're replacing Sakura with an OC we made together, but Sakura will still be in our story (I think; again, we don't communicate well). The plot of Naruto will be existent in up until the retrieval mission, but I'm not telling how it's going to be after of which.

The basis of the story in how I interpret it as is Sasuke and Sakura's importance is no longer existent, and we're going to trade off POVs on whose side of the story we're getting every chapter, going Naruto, OC, Naruto, OC… or the opposite since I've already written my first chapter with the OC we've created in it. More on that, we see the misadventures of the two lives… we'll be following and the darkness that comes with betrayal, and revenge.

Sound interesting, right? WELL… it's not going to be on my account since I normally don't write successful OC stories. He does, however…

Anyway… I'd like to thank Yuki Kira Phantomhive for following, Shut up Steven for favoriting, and Guest for reviewing. As for the answers to your review, Muah, I will get to below:

Muah (I'm calling you by a nick name now! *smiles*)! Itachi indeed will have to fight all those damn bitches to get through to him. *smiles devilishly*

Also, as for the Harem, I could involve Sakura to make it a real Harem (harems are min of three people), or I could set up a poll for you guys to vote no. I think I have faithful enough fans to do so. Also I've mentioned back in chapter zero that there will be polls to this series, WAY before I had mentioned it in this chapter.

I also have an active poll for the main pairing of the series. Your review votes will still count for those who have reviewed within the start of the series to the time I posted this chapter, but I must encourage the ones who have not reviewed vote on the poll instead. **It's located at the top of the profile, above the follow author, fav author, and pm author options.** So, as frivolous as this may sound, it does have a point. I will keep the poll open for however long it takes to get two or more votes on a pairing. If the traffic is good, then 3-4 votes will be necessary. I have also voted for the pairings I want as well (as it is multi-choice).

Oh, muah… thank you for at least giving me something in the score range of 'good' to 'Excellent'! *smiles*

Ok? On with the story!

(Naruto's new stats are: Ninjutsu 3, Taijutsu 2.5, Genjutsu 1, Intelligence 1, Strength 3, Speed 3.5, Stamina 4, Hand Seals 1… Total 19)

XXX

"What do you mean we're only getting another D-rank? I did those back when I was six and nailed 50 of them out in a little more than a month!"

Naruto was busy complaining to his father and bustling up some trouble with Kakashi inside the Academy's mission giving room.

"We know Naruto… but newer genin are strictly limited in their mission aspects." said Kakashi stringently.

"Dad, give us a C-rank." said Naruto taking it with a grain of salt.

"Alright… that's the least I could do… ayeyeye."

"Yosha!" said Naruto holding his victory arm up. The other three shook their heads.

"Bring in the client!"

Just then, a sloppy, drunkard of a man with a large Sake bottle in his hand came in, took a sip from said bottle, and went, 'Tch'. He was a bespectacled man wearing greyish-brown V-neck and an Obi. He also wore a pointed hat, pants that went down to his knees, accompanied by a pair of wooden sandals.

"Is this my escort? Can't I get someone who's a little less short to rely on? Especially the blond one."

Minato, who was looking slightly stricken, merely cleared his throat. "That, is my son."

"Oh, is that so…" he said, not taken aback.

"Hey, you asshole old man! I'm the greatest genin that ever lived!" said Naruto, sticking one hand out to point to him.

"It's rude to point, you know." he said as he looked away and took one sip of his Sake with his eyes closed.

Naruto's head grew to massive size, turning red as it did so, then popped cartoon style and regrew within moments.

"He-he! I like this brat. Do it again!" said Tazuna perturbingly.

Naruto grew red in the face as Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi laughed with Minato and the rest if the room. "Can I kill… the client now… dad?"

"No, no! That won't be necessary. Remember that he's probably drunk… really, really, drunk."

Naruto let out a great sigh. "Okay…"

"Atta boy! I knew I taught you well…" said Minato anime smiling.

"So, let me get this straight; you were probably taught by the God of Shinobi, correct?" said Tazuna, "You ain't fibbin'?"

"Yeah, what about it?" said Naruto moodily.

"Well! I'd be happy to take you along; even the old man next to you!"

Kakashi lazily stared at him and Naruto smiled.

"Hehe, Yosha! Let's go!"

XXX

The three were at the front of the village, ready to get a move on, and when the group started walking for a half hour, Kakashi and Naruto both noticed the puddle of water ahead.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

"Not now Naruto." he said with a nod.

Sasuke looked to them with surprise. 'What are they...'

"Look out, Sasuke!" said Kakashi

A mysterious ninja appeared, catching Sasuke off guard and leaving Naruto to throw his leg toward the ninja. Soon, another ninja appeared and said, "Bro!"

"Oh, no, NARUTO!"

Sakura screamed out of the confusion… I looked like Naruto was just lying there, but everything was slowing down for him yet again and he was gathering Nature Energy. The brothers thought it was a moment of weakness for some reason, and went to attack. Naruto retaliated and used his arms to throw him up in the air at an amazing speed and kicked the two brothers' faces. He then intensified the kick by using his Rasengan to spin him to his right. The brothers had soon passed out by the force behind his blows.

Sasuke was looking in a mixture of self-pity, and embarrassment for not being able to do anything when Naruto took them both out with just one or two blows. He was staring in rage.

"They're out cold. What's that matter Sasuke… you a scaredy cat?" said Naruto looking down with shadows under her his eyes.

Sasuke ran toward him in attempt to throw his fist at him, but Naruto punched him and he fell to his knees without even putting up a fight.

"SASUKE-KUN!" said Sakura running up to him getting on her knees to catch him.

"Calm down Sakura!" said Kakashi, "Naruto! You shouldn't have-"

"Sasuke deserved it; he was totally useless. Kakashi, I'm sorry but if I would have just shrugged him off he'd come at me again and again until he got even more seriously injured than the tap I just gave him right now." he said, shaking his head. Sakura looked up to him with tears in her eyes.

"But, Naruto… you… YOU HURT MY SASUKE-KUN!"

"Enough, girl! Some kids just dramatize everything… he told you _why_ he did it, so why don't you just-"

"Tazuna… now's not the time. We need to talk about why these two ninja were after you. You never told us that this would happen." said Kakashi seriously.

"Well, about that… I sort of lied about the severity of my situation. Gato, biggest smuggler and drug lord around is after me, you see… he's been oppressing our land and…"

"You realize they'll be sending more ninja after you, correct? These were Chunin-ranked ninja… next they'll be sending a Jonin-rank or higher. You realize that this would be rated a B-rank mission or higher, do you not?"

"Kakashi-sensei… is… is Sasuke-kun going to be okay?"

Kakashi was getting annoyed… "Yes… Sakura… he's going to be okay…" said Kakashi; he walked over toward and picked Sasuke up. "I'm going to lay him against this tree and tie the Demon Brothers up."

He did so accordingly.

XXX

That's all, folks! I'll cya later.


	10. C7: Momochi Zabuza!

Hi guys. Short chapter today, but I think it's some of my best quality action that I've made to this date. It reminds me back to the chunin exams of 'Naruko', *sniff*, may my story rest in peace.

Thank you to ItsTroLLzoR (even though I'm getting tired of saying this to my fans), for following and favoriting, anarion87 for favoriting, NinjaKitty8purr favoriting and following. Also, there's a big long list I will make out for my new followers. LincDawg, Itachi Hyuuga, Cookie Cha, and Devil Master 7… thank you all for following me, and it is much appreciated.

As for reviews… Muah was the nicest, but unfortunately Freddy4200 was the first. Idk which to pick, (don't take it personally), but I'm going with Freddy first.

Freddy4200: I made naruto seem more immature since he was never taught how to BE mature, and he matured to an extent, but he's still technically mental age 7 because he is naturally immature, and he's been away from adult society and even other kids his age. He also hasn't developed to the point where he would be a normal twelve year old because of his intelligence. That should about sum it up.

Muah: That nickname wasn't for you! That was for some other person named Muah :3 (just kidding! *smiles devilishly*)

Also, I'll get to each and every one of your main points in your reviews below:

1. Calin is freakin' annoying, don't you guys forget that :D

2. I ALSO liked what I did to Sasuke, as well!

3. Sorry Itachi and Muah! It's just that I had to cut corners on some of those stats because of these reasons: A. I didn't want go over his max power in the in the manga and anime thinking it would be more appropriate to boost his physical qualities as a ninja first, then make his mental qualities flourish sometime after or during the chunin exams, and B. you may see in this chapter, he's more of a brawlerish, straightforward kind of fighter with straightforward thinking; it's a 'if I do this, I can do this' kind of intelligence, much like the canon Naruto around this time. So, in conclusion, Jiraiya spent mostly training him to increase his strengths, not his weaknesses because he was a full-fledged fighter even with his weaknesses, as seen by when he took out Kakashi with one blow (though Kakashi even quoted him saying speed and strength alone will not win the battle). Also, if you haven't noticed, he's only slightly stronger than Sasuke, with his speed being only a half faster than Sasuke's (Sasuke's is 3.0, and Naruto's is 3.5) and their total levels are slightly similar since Sasuke's is 18.5 and Naruto's is 19. So, Naruto has better strengths and worse weaknesses than Sasuke, but Sasuke is better overall, which is why he's so weak physically compared to Naruto.

4. As for Minato's coldness… it's almost non-existent (I say that because he is somewhat cold to him at times you will see in the future). The way I interpreted it as, is that he took him back in shortly after he was kicked out of the orphanage he was put in not even after a YEAR he was in there. It takes dedication to your only son to do that, therefore he found it in his heart, thinking that if Kushina wasn't taking care of him, and meeting her in her last dying wishes and her saying that he has to be taken care of, that he needed to do something. He originally thought making him live in an orphanage would be the best thing for him, him being still reluctant to be a father… but the orphanage's promises for fair treatment to the Hokage were not enough to keep it from getting bad (since he had not told them he was his father). When Minato thought it over to claim parentship for him, he went to the orphanage and found he was not there. He searched for a long time, which all and all takes more dedication than anything else, and brought him up to be a strong, powerful ninja, full of purpose and meaning.

5. It will be a one-sided harem, yes it will… but the thing is that Sakura's going to be included. Sorry, but 3 makes a crowd lol (or this case a harem…)

6. Also, ifff yooouuu wannntt… I'll get rid of the notion of a NaruSaku fic.

7. Btw, I just write them (chapters) as they come, and let my ideas flow out onto the page no matter how many (words) I use. No planning… no thinking… just one continuous flow when I write. But as for how many words and Chapters it will be? Well, as soon as the seasons end and my story goes down in history :P I think I'm going to write at least over a hundred (100-130 chapters) each with an increasing number of words after this chapter (since I wrote this last night all in one sitting I wrote about 500 honest words of story content, but it will be more like 1500-2000 words for pretty much of every part of the story content in the future, so basically about up to 260,000 words). Thatta way I don't spend too much time on writing and can still write like crazy when I'm bored.

Oh and uh, just kidding about the 'I'm calling someone else Muah' crap I gave you, lol. You're still Muah to me... lol

Let's start the story!

XXX

The mist started to grow and accumulate within the surroundings… Naruto and co. soon stopped to look around but saw nothing through the denseness of the fog. It was quiet; not at all like a bustling forest should be. Too quiet… most of what happened started to make sense only seconds after the fog cleared on a man walking toward them in the mist. "Hello, pleasure to meet your acquaintance. I'm Momochi Zabuza, and it's time for you to die!"

Kakashi met him with a swift kick to the face before the man pulled his broadsword but was blocked by his arm. "Feisty… but did you know…?"

The water clone disappeared and Kakashi's eyes grew wide, "Naruto! I need you to use your Shadow Clones!"

Just then, an entire task-force Narutos appeared around Tazuna. "I got your back… these are Sage Clones!" said Naruto to Tazuna as they looked at each other.

"Ooo, Sage Clones… you're so scary, twerp." laughed Zabuza.

Zabuza came up next to one of the Naruto's clones by running at intense speed and swung his sword, but Naruto blocked it with his brute strength and a kunai. What Zabuza was thinking right now sounded a lot like, '_This kid is unreal...'_ but the man never let it get to him as he brought his sword back and stuck again. Naruto's precision with large weapons and blocking them with simple kunai came in handy, because he then blocked again, and again... and as Zabuza came to a definite wall of frustration, he wailed and writhed one last blow which Naruto could not block…

The clone disappeared after being sliced straight down the middle of his body in two. Sakura screamed… but then the puff of smoke appeared and Zabuza made for the part of Tazuna Sasuke was guarding. "Now's my chance!" they, both Zabuza and Sasuke said. Sasuke used the Shuriken Technique and was blocked almost immediately... however that was just a distraction for his great fireball technique, which he made the hand seals for and he fired at a great speed.

With not much of a choice Zabuza ninja-leaped high into the air, over the fireball and it looked like he was about come down on Sasuke and Tazuna both. But, it was at that fateful moment, after all the thoughts about, '_I'm useless…_' and, '_I'm going to die!_' that Naruto soon came and reached his arm high in the air and blocked the sword with a seemingly guarded arm.

Sasuke and Zabuza didn't move for several seconds and Naruto's arm quivered and bled from under his jacket. "Sasuke…" said Naruto. "I fully accept you as an adversary. You may have to live up to my expectations, but I have to say that I'm more than just hurt physically than under my armguard. You would give your life to scum like him… just to redeem yourself? Let me and sensei take care of this, and live another day. Failure is not an opinion in any circumstance, comrade."

"Naruto! Watch out!" went Sasuke as Zabuza came down on Naruto. With Zabuza's fist driven into his gullet, Naruto's sage more disappeared, his clones disbanded, and he was kicked back onto Sasuke as Zabuza's sword was lowered and raised again to strike.

But the ever faithful Kakashi came to the rescue, holding a Kunai to his throat.

"If you dare hurt any of my students… you will die." he said.

The water clone disappeared and the mist cleared.

"Sasuke. Wake Naruto up. The man is gone."

XXX

That's it… I wrote this all in one sitting before bed so you better be happy :P


	11. NOT A CHAPTER! -Current Poll Standings-

Hey guys… so here are the tallies that I have collected so far (you have another week to vote), counting my votes to a T (my votes count too!) and yours as well…

**NaruXHina with 4 unique voters and 4 votes (counting mine!).**

**ITA-friggen-NARU with 2 unique voters and 4 votes, (two were thru reviews and I know Muah voted a third time.)**

**Slight NaruXHaku with 2 votes and two unique voters (I think Muah voted thru PM)**

**NaruXSasu with one unofficial vote… I'll count my votes if someone else votes on them, too.**

**I originally voted NaruXSaku but we're not counting that one at all unless I get more than two votes (counting mine/three or above).**

**NaruXKiba… I actually didn't vote on this one so congrats for me! I'm prolly going to get a bit more votes to this one.**

**And, I forgot to mention the harem is now one-sided because of a certain reviewer who I respect. That got a vote as well.**

As for the tiebreaker, if we have the same amount of unique voters for ItaNaru and NaruHina (which they don't; they just have the same amount of votes. I would have also wanted NaruHina more btw, and that pair would have won out if I did decide to keep the poll open…) then I'll decide.

So… if you want either of them to win, then vote now, or get all your friends to vote if you already voted! Though anything's fair game… I expect SasuNaru and KibaNaru to be contenders eventually

Kay? Bye!


	12. C8: Motivation is the Key

"Tsunami, we're home!"

As Tazuna addressed his daughter, Naruto and Co. had walked into the kitchen of the house that Tazuna lived in. Tsunami greeted them, bending over in a bow and said, "Welcome to our home; I thank you for being here to guard my father."

"Hey, no problem, lady!" said Naruto. She looked taken aback.

Sakura slapped him on the arm (she was standing right next to him) and said, "Naruto!" somewhat hushed and hurriedly, but Tsunami only chuckled, smiled and went back to what she was doing at the sink.

"Dinner will be ready in a few hours, okay guys?"

Just then, a little boy came out of the shadow of the hall to the stairwell, leading up upstairs. "You shouldn't be here… go away!" he cried.

"Inari!" scolded Tsunami, turning around and putting her hands on her hips at him with a glare.

"Shut up! They're going to cause the village to suffer more, not less… Gato's going to come after them and kill us all!" said the little boy with angst.

"Look kid… I don't know what the hell you're going to do about it, since we're already here. I promise you, I won't let anyone… and I mean anyone die!" he held up his heavily-bandaged arm; "By this arm, I swear it!"

"How could you swear something so stupid!? You're just a kid; you can't save us!" said Inari.

He ran up the stairs and started crying.

"Naruto… you shouldn't have made him-" said Sakura, who was how scolding him, but however was cut off.

"That's okay… he's normally like this. Why don't you talk to him…? Maybe a strong and capable boy like you could help him a bit." said Tsunami, holding her hand up to stop Sakura and sighing.

"Not without hearing the story of Inari's father…" said Tazuna. Then Tsunami looked to him and nodded solemnly; he shook his head.

He went into a long explanation about Kaiza, Inari's stepfather and role-model who died trying to protect their village when Gato came into to town. The goons working for Gato cut off his arms and executed him publicly.

Soon after the story Sakura spoke with a sense of dread and pity for Inari… "Yeah, let's both go, Naruto…"

The boy looked at her menacing look and Naruto, acting out of empathy for Inari and with nowhere to run, they both headed down the hall and up the stairwell.

When the heard the sobs and followed them, Naruto used his sixth sense to locate Inari and they entered the room that he was in.

Sakura knocked on the door, "Inari-kun? Your mom almost has-"

"Go away! You won't be able to do anything for me or this village!" said Inari from the windowsill.

Naruto clenched his fists and pointed at him as he turned around scowl at the two. "Look you little twerp; you're not going to talk to us like that! Some of us aren't useless like me and my sensei! You have believe in us or you won't give up such cowardice!"

"But you're injured! How could you protect us!?" said Inari.

"Because, I'm willing to die like your father if it means protecting your way of life, you idiot!"

Inari started sobbing… "Y-You… you realize I-I hate my father for abandoning us, right? He took… the only hope we have with him to the grave…"

"But my nindo states that I'm going to fight till the end, and if I can't sacrifice enough to even leave a legacy of people who have courage and strength enough to fight till the end, and pass on my nindo through others… then I'm considered a hero for trying!"

Inari made an odd, scrunched up face, like he was trying to stop Naruto's conflicting words and state something obvious that will make him lose hope, but could not find anything… he actually smiled… "You're… you're just like him."

Naruto gave a great smiled and chuckled, "Hehe! Well, that's the spirit."

Sakura was staring wildly at Naruto; she had never seen such a crazier boy before… she almost liked the craziness. Something about his heart… his big, open, and throbbing heart made her heart beat out of her chest like a bass-drum kicking to the beat. She had never seen the same kind of kindness with Sasuke… maybe she'd be a bit nicer to him…

"Naruto…" she whispered as they exited the room before her.

XXX

Ok I promised more story content, but I was already pushing it by not posting a chapter yesterday and it's already 10:15. I also had a hard time getting started because of my lazy ass.

Anyway, I'd like to thank people now and talk a bit more, but I will not be doing replies to reviews today since it's time consuming and actually start something new. Every time I post 2-3 new chapters, there will be a "NOT A CHAPTER! -Review Replies-" chapter where I answer your reviews and such (this way people are not pressured to read an author note every chapter). Now, for those who didn't review on the most recent chapters leading up to the reply chapter, there will still be important info on plans for the future so be cautious when skipping over.

I will also be putting the thank-yous at the END of the chapter, not the beginning; this way people aren't annoyed by an author note every time they start a chapter.

Thank you Muah for reviewing again, XanfiretheShinigami for also reviewing, TheObserver101 for reviewing twice on older chapters and last but not least... Guest for reviewing with words I still cannot understand (you foreign? I think you're trying to say super story lol...). As for favoriters and followers, I thank tensaichi for following, shedges19 for following, fjaviersa for following, NinjaKitty8purr (sorry if I did your name twice) for following, jordandragons for following, Maskedgirl08 for following... ugh to many to do; sorry guys. JK! Anyway, everyone I just stated favorited my story as well. KK! I'm done.

Bye!


	13. C9: Midnight Talk

"Inari…" said a voice looking to the small boy heading up the stairwell. "Stay right there for a minute, will you?"

"Huh? Kakashi-san?" said Inari, turning around and squinting in the darkness to see the moonlight reflect a on a silver-grayish head of hair in the shade.

"Yes, that's right." said Kakashi, coming out of the darkness and fully into the light.

"Um, what is it?" he said drearily, as though tired from a long day.

Kakashi sighed. "I want to talk about Naruto."

"Oh… okay." said Inari as Kakashi walked over to the boy and sat down on the other side of the stairs. The part of the stairs that the boy stood on, he sat down upon. "What about him?"

Kakashi sighed yet again and shook his head. "How old are you?"

"Eight."

"Okay… you see… a long time ago, when Naruto was a little boy, about three or four years under your age, he lost his mother. She was his only parent at the time as his father walked out on him when he was a toddler… much like how you and your real father were. He could barely even remember his mother she died when he was so young… he only remembers that he had a mother for the first 5 years of his life, and can't even imagine her except for her red hair… he's expressed to me in the short time that I've known him that he actually wished he looked more like his mother, rather than his so distant father who came in later."

"So, he lost his mom?" said Inari, looking amused. "But his dad came back…"

"Exactly; and he actually witnessed part of her murder. But that's irrelevant in the greater scheme of things. Let's get back to the story. Naruto is a boy who learned all he knows from his father who took him off the streets after the short month he was in the orphanage that they kicked him out of… who's actually a famous war hero in fact. You may know him as The God of the Shinobi who was also the Hokage of our village; kind of like the leader and military officer." said Kakashi with a close-eyed smile.

Inari couldn't help himself; "So his dad was a war hero? And a leader? Why didn't anyone treat him differently?"

"Because, not everyone knows who the wife of the Hokage is. Only people who knew her personally had mention of him, and spread rumors; but they were just rumors." said Kakashi.

Inari nodded upward. "Oh…"

Kakashi looked away. "He was put in the academy; it's like a school for ninja. He was pushed to his limits by his father, Minato to become part of what he is today… however he was much weaker back then, and he was only six at the time of his graduation like myself, so no one took him seriously even still. However, trained under the Hokage they knew not to mess with his student and his son they were soon to figure out that he disowned. That made the village somewhat loath the Hokage, but they still respected him enough to leave him and his son alone. Soon Naruto, even though being a monster in the eyes of the village beforehand, was well respected and became too proud of that; however some of that pride was just, and he accomplished many things as being a leaf genin so young."

"Why was he a monster?" said Inari; "I mean he's just a normal boy with a hard past…"

"He's not a normal boy; he is a very obnoxious, immature, and dark boy who possesses something evil… the Kyuubi no Yoko. It is a powerful, sentient fox-demon that attacked and destroyed the village 12 years ago, taking many of the former buildings and lives it held." said Kakashi gravely.

"So, he has a demon inside of him? How?" Inari asked.

"It is contained within a seal on his belly. Actually, it was Third Hokage, Minato's predecessor who did the sealing… he died shortly after he did it though the Hakke Fuuin on an altered sealing shrine for a 5 year old; Naruto does not know this since he was out cold at the time, so don't tell him. Also, as a side note… some of his mother's chakra was sealed within the Hakke Fuuin as well, so when the time comes when he learns how to master the tailed beast mode, something the previous Jinchuuriki, who was actually his mother never did due to not needing to."

"I think I'm still a bit confused… but okay..." said Inari, "Continue."

"So that's why the village hated him, and loathed him even more since they think he attacked the village. They still do, but they respect his heritage more." said Kakashi, "Anyway, so soon after he graduated, he was sent away to Mount Myoboku for the remainder of his life up till a few short weeks ago at the age of 7 to train and further his prowess with the Legendary Sannin, a war hero and Minato's sensei, Jiraiya; did I mention he's my sensei's sensei? Anyway… Jiraiya was taught by the noble Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and taught well to gain such a title. And so, Naruto was taught, and taught well because he had been furthered in strength enough to best even one of my other students, Sasuke Uchiha, who was a prodigy in his time in the Academy. However… their fighting styles are very different. Also Sasuke has much more potential since Naruto is unintelligent except for what he learnt to pass the Academy and his potential has reached his limits for a while. He did have a pretty good nindo, though, don't you think? He was loud enough to hear from all the way downstairs."

"Hehe! Yeah, he's just like my dad, only he sounds like he can really save us this time around."

"Yes, he is quite strong, but he has only his good arm and a pair of legs...right now he's severely handicapped for trying to protect Sasuke. He can still use what he has though, but it doesn't look like he'll be fighting the person we met on the road to your country. I suspect he can take anything down with his Rasengan, though. Maybe he'll show it to you sometime?" said Kakashi with a smile. "But the thing I want you to do for me is to incite the courage of this village when it is time to stand and fight… I want you to bring upon a change to this country, and its people, since your village lacks the courage. You are the only one that can do it; I believe in you."

"But why me? I'm just a kid, and Naruto's way better at that than me."

"Will a lone, outsider wolf who just joined the pack get the pack to listen to him? You are the only one with courage in this village, and we do not belong here anymore than we are needed. We are men and women of service, that only serve our own nation, and also foreign nations that are our allies. We are to be used, and inspire. That may be my nindo, but not once did I say do we lead. Use your courage and heritage to lead the pack into a brighter future for your village. You said Naruto was just a kid, which he is… why do you believe in him if you don't believe in yourself like that?"

Inari looked stricken with happiness and power. "Thanks. I need to go to bed now, okay?"

"Alright." Kakashi chuckled slightly, "I guess we'll both go."

XXX

Okay guys! I'm not going to give props today since the only people who did anything at the time I was writing this were a troll and Muah. I still will reply to their reviews, however…

Bye!


	14. C10: Battle on the Bridge!

"Naruto… will you watch these two as they do as I instructed? I take it you've already learnt the basics and the advanced techniques of chakra control?" said Kakashi.

The three were standing with Sakura and Sasuke looking amazed at the 'feet' of science that Kakashi was performing. The man was hanging upside down on the tree only by the soles of his feet, and what appeared to be chakra that he had been emitting from them.

"Nah, my chakra control is perfect. Yeah, I know I'm awesome…" said Naruto, taking his arm out of his sling and starting to stretch. "I'd like to try, though."

'Naruto… he's such a twit. And I was going to be nice to him… sheesh!' thought Sakura with squinty eyes.

"Alright… why don't you try then?" said Kakashi nodding and not doubting the Hokage's son in the least. His father never had to practice his chakra control either.

Naruto said, "Dattebayo!" and took off walking toward his tree immediately.

"Naruto! Your arm!" said both Sasuke and Sakura. To hear Sasuke's voice was alarming, because he almost sounded like he cared somewhat…

"Sensei!" said Sakura, recovering slightly from her and Sasuke's attempt to intervene, "Should he be...?"

Kakashi nodded.

"Yeah yeah, I know Sakura-chan! Just give me one shot and I'll show you what 5 years of Sage training does to you, okay, woman?" said Naruto

"WHAT'D YOU CALL ME!?"

Naruto started running and put his foot on the tree. The crowd cringed except for Kakashi.

Naruto, with each stride got higher and higher up the tree until he stopped; he appeared to slip. "Whoa!"

"Naruto!" screamed Sakura; Sasuke got ready to save him whereas Kakashi just watched with a smile.

"Haha!" said Naruto regaining his balance the next moment. "I knew you'd fall for it."

"Naruto! That was BEYOND mean!" said Sakura.

"Fool…" muttered Sasuke under his breath with a grimace.

"I did the same thing when I was a kid." As Kakashi nostalgically reminisced, Naruto walked to the nearest branch and stood upside down. "I have to admit… you're just like your father. What would Jiraiya say if he were here right now…? 'Ah! Just like Minato.'" said Kakashi, "Right Naruto?"

"Nah, he'd say, 'Kick your ass into high gear! You shouldn't have walked' because he's like that, Kakashi-sensei." said Naruto looking at him on the next tree over.

"I'll still get you for that, you sorry ass…" said Sakura. "Shannaro!"

"Hell yeah! I mastered it." said Naruto swinging back and forth upside down like a monkey.

"Naruto, you can come with me, if you'd like." said Kakashi, "I'll be guarding Tazuna for today, you can either stay and watch or come with me, but I would like to talk even still."

"I think I'll stay and watch Sasuke fail at this…"

Sasuke scowled.

XXX

It was hours later, Sakura and Sasuke were lying on the ground tired from a long day's training. "Hey, do you think we should wake Naruto up?" said Sakura as they stood up with a smile, also as they walked over to and leaned over him.

"Nah just let him sleep out here. He deserves it." said Sasuke.

XXX

It was the next day, and Naruto awoke to someone leaning over him. "Um… sir… what are you doing out here?" said the woman as he rustled, "... Sir?"

Naruto sat up instinctively with the woman leaning back. He looked to the left, then the right, and thought 'Did Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme leave me out here?'

He yawned, "Wahhh! So refreshing… just layin' out here…" said Naruto suavely, looking to the woman with large breasts in a light pink sleeveless Kimono. He soon realized them and blushed wildly. "U-Um, hey…"

"Hello." she tilted her head and smiled, "Why are you out here?"

"What time is it… it looks like it's early morning." said Naruto yawning again.

"Err… it is early morning." said the woman.

"WHA?!" said Naruto putting his hands to his head with his mouth open. "It can't be… they didn't leave me out here all night, did they?"

"Who? What were you doing with your friends, I presume, in the middle of the forest?"

"Their just my teammates; I have no friends. Oh, and I'm a ninja by the way; they were out here training, I didn't even start since I mastered it in one go." said Naruto.

"Oh, I see. Tell me… how did you get injured? By means of training?" said the woman, smiling kindly.

"No… just in some fight with some Momochi guy… I don't remember his forename."

The girl looked at him menacingly.

"Um, did I say something wrong miss?"

"Um, no…" she said uncertainly. "Why do you go about being a ninja?"

Naruto looked to her with query. He had never heard that question asked before by anyone but his teachers; he almost felt a respect for the intelligent lady before him because of that fact. It almost felt like she could teach him something. "I want to protect the people I care about, even if they're my adversary like my idiot rival Sasuke-teme. I want to have a way of life worth living, and to always cherish those around me. I want people look up to me, and respect my name, not just my noble heritage. People will follow my lead one day, since I'll be greater than all the Kage! Dattebayo!"

"So… you want to be great and powerful, you say… but do you have enough mind to realize by protecting your way of life, so that you have something special, you have to ruin someone else's? Make someone else bitter and unhappy? You cannot change the world of shinobi, you cannot make an end to all ends of the cycle that ensnares us all by the time we pick up a blade and call ourselves ninja. Only death will come with being a ninja; being a father or mother will bring life. But in the end… a swift death will come to those that have been born."

Naruto looked to her in astonishment… he didn't know how to how to reply as she jiggled away with her basket.

She stopped, turned around and smiled one more time with her eyes closed and a tilt of her head then said, "Sir… I hope you have to make a decision to make an end to that end, because at the time of your dream is mostly complete, someone will have to die. There is no changing that fact."

XXX

It was later on in the weeks from the start of the journey to the Land of Waves; the journey was veering its end. The three had successfully mastered basic chakra control, and it was now time to guard Tazuna full time as he finished the bridge. Then… as the day was veering to a close and the workers went home for the afternoon, the mist started to appear again.

'Damn it I'm not going to be able to fight with my arm like this… it's a good thing Kakashi sensei told me not to fight, huh? I am going to, though, whether he wants me to or not. I-I can't even make hand seals for my Wind-Release or my summonings… that means no Fukasaku and Shima. I might be able to make shadow clones if I unwrap my arm a little. But I can only use Sage Mode without Shima and Fukasaku once a day; any more than that I'll start losing time on the duration by five minutes each time I use it. Most of my skills are hampered… but I still have my ace in the hole. Maybe I can finally learn how to throw the Rasenshuriken without Sage Mode.' thought Naruto as they armed themselves.

"There you are brat." said a mysterious figure coming from the other side of the bridge. "There's going to be a surprise for the old man once he gets... hey, where's the helpless brat?"

The group smiled, "He's far ahead of you; any goons you send will face the wrath of my Sasuke-kun!" said Sakura.

"Haku! Go to the old man's house and kill anyone who tries to stop those fools! I don't trust them." said Zabuza.

"I won't leave you. Those goons are some of Gato's best… you know that."

"Go, now!"

"That boy is still as strong as you and you know it; if I distract him…"

Zabuza undid his sword, lurched forward and went toward Naruto with full speed and force; "I'll kill him then!"

"No Zabuza!"

Naruto jumped on Zabuza's sword just barely in time without Sage Mode and walked on it as he slashed and could not stop because of the weight of the blade. Naruto then jumped off and rolled onto his feet and propelled in his steps toward Haku at amazing speed. He slammed into his face and the mask broke off of it as she fell diagonally to the center of the bridge.

"You… you're that girl from the forest! You're with him?!" Naruto said hastily.

"I'm sorry… I am only loyal to Zabuza; you cannot change that." said Haku standing up. "Now it's time for you to die!"

Haku started doing one-handed hand seals… something Naruto had never seen before. Kakashi looked surprised as well. 'That's not possible… one handed hand seals?' they both thought.

That gave Naruto an idea… 'If I could just convert a standard E-rank or something with those same hand seals, I can convert my two handed Wind-Release techniques into a one handed routine.' he said as he mimicked his hand seals. 'Problem is… I don't even know if that work because they may not be one handed copies of the standard hand seals. But if I start with the simple Body Replacement Technique, which only takes two hand seals for me since I made it more efficient, then I'll be able to guess other jutsu from that.'

"Those hand seals won't work for you, you can only use them if you have a Kekkei Genkai." said Haku. "Secret Technique! Ice Dragon Bullet!"

Just then a barbed dragon made out of ice appeared and soon, inching closer and closer, came down upon poor Naruto. "Get out of there, Naruto!" said Kakashi from afar. He tried all the hand seals he could before I reached him, and…

He substituted just in time and appeared behind Haku with a kunai to his neck.

"So what's that about not being able to use those hand seals?" said Naruto.

"So… you were able to figure out a couple of them…" said Haku, "Yes… they are based off of the 12 two-handed seals, since the real ones are lost; but they work just fine for my jutsu. The ice has melted and is surrounding us, but if I move I won't be able to cast my jutsu… however I doubt even if you'll even be able stop me if you put that knife down."

"I won't… you can bet on that!" said Naruto, "Kakashi-sensei! Hows your fight going?"

"I've already detained Zabuza with my dogs. I'm going to have to kill him now."

"Zabuza! Are you okay?" said Haku.

"I've failed Haku… let me die." said Zabuza.

Naruto saw a tear fall from her face; "You may be my enemy, but please… let me protect who I care about! Why do you persist in helping this old man? There is no hope for this village; Gato will keep control over things as long as this land remains. Why do you wish to take away the man that gave me life!?"

"Kakashi-sensei, hold it!" said Naruto. "Why do you wish to save someone like that… he's scum, a demon that can only hurt. I bet he doesn't even care that he's dying… I bet he doesn't even care that his life with you is going to end with a blade to his chest!"

"He may not care… but why do you care about me? Why do you see significance in someone who just tried to kill you? If you have any heart… you will lower that kunai. Do you have doubt? Do you realize that I won't try to kill you?" said Haku.

"Look… I won't lower it for someone who will die for that piece of trash. He's only a tool used by someone else like Gato to kill and dismember people's rights and a way of life that this nation has lost because of him. If you wanted to be used by him, then be my guest, but I will protect your life at all costs; I'm just that nice. If he gave you a life of pointless murder and you call that significance, giving you life, then you're nothing but a fool. You're not a tool to be used."

Haku's face started to contort, and she lost control of her tears. "A person like me is a tool… all ninja's are tools… they are only supposed to bring death. Not every ninja has the chance to give life, but has the chance to destroy them. You must understand to bring a time of peace, you must bring a time of war, and dismay; that is the only way you can give life as a ninja… you can't change the nature of the ninja!"

"But you want to destroy a way of life so you can add to yours. If a whole nation has to fall to bring about your internal peace, then I must do the unthinkable. You were my enemy from the first time I saw you; you challenged my way of life… saying someone had to die for change. I will make an end to this end… I will kill you to fulfill my life's dream; just to feel like I have worth to the people of this land and take one step into my future. You were wrong because told me that in the first place. To tell you the truth, in our meeting in the forest, actually thought I saw the eyes of a beautiful woman who was hurting like me; you were just a woman who had a hard past. That was I could tell all by your eyes. Are you ready to die?"

"If I get to spend my eternity with Zabuza, then the hell of this world and the next will never reach my spirit; I will always have my fulfillment." said Haku.

"DON'T DO IT NARUTO! YOU CARE ABOUT HER AND SHE DOESN'T HAVE TO DIE BECAUSE OF ZABUZA!" Sakura screamed as Naruto nearly accepted her fate. He stopped and lowered the knife.

Haku fell back into Naruto's arms.

"Hey, Haku! Wake up!"

"What's going on with the girl, Naruto?" said Tazuna.

"She can't use the Ice Dragon Bullet yet. I'm amazed she lasted this long… that's why she was so eager… she thought she had to keep fighting until the brat let up. However the stress was too much; she couldn't bear to save me in the time of her consciousness. She'll be in a coma for at least 3 weeks." said Zabuza. "I just want you kill me and tell her that I do care… like she was like a daughter to me… but… a d-demon like me should have cared more…"

"HAHAHA!" said a new voice.

"What the-?" everyone said and they heard roars of laughter moments afterward.

"Gato! What are you doing here!?" said Zabuza after the mist finally cleared. Naruto saw that there was an entire army of ruthless goons for hire along with a short, stumpy, and fat businessman with a black suit and a pair of shady shades. He also had long grizzled grey hair, much like Kakashi's only not slicked up and jagged over his shoulders.

"What'dya mean? I'm here to kill you, the old man, and the ninja, see. Also, I'm getting my men a little present to play with; the two girls should be fine."

The crowd cheered and Sakura looked like she was about to wet herself. "Kakashi-sensei!"

"It's okay, Sakura… reinforcements have arrived." said another new, but vaguely familiar, dark voice.

Naruto and the group looked over their shoulders. "Sasuke!" they said.

Sasuke was standing next to Inari and in front of the whole village who came to view through the natural mist that was clearing. "Yeah… these guys are just men with equipment; they're no more special than the villagers behind me." said Sasuke, folding his arms with his pointer finger sticking out.

"Yeah, you really came through, Sasuke!" said Naruto happily.

Naruto laid down Haku and unwrapped his arm, activating his Sage Mode. "I don't need to limit myself to just five clones for this; how about 1000?" he exclaimed, "Shadow Clone Technique!"

An army of roughly a thousand Naruto's appeared with a cheer.

"For freedom!" screamed one of the villagers and the crowd followed.

They all started running and the goons started running off the side of the unfinished bridge and swimming to the opposite shore.

"Men, stay strong! You can… AGH!"

Zabuza was let free and given a kunai to put in his mouth to kill Gato with. He then proceeded to kill and maim countless more enemies… the blood shed by him was untold. Pretty soon, the whole task force that Gato had, and Gato himself, was either dead or swimming ashore.

But Zabuza's energy wasn't lasting. He soon collapsed and spoke, "Hatake Kakashi… lay me next to my friend."

Kakashi picked him up, and took him over to Haku. By then, the real Naruto (Naruto's clones had all but disappeared by now), Sasuke, and Sakura along with Tazuna and Kakashi himself were standing over them.

"Haku… I've loved you like a daughter I should have treated better. There wasn't a moment in my life with you that I didn't think about your progress as a strong, able-bodied woman. You were helpless kid on the streets of Kiri… you couldn't fend for yourself and you stole, and got wrongfully beaten… my childhood wasn't that good either, so I had a soft spot and never tried to hurt you like that. Tell her that, Kakashi; I know you'll remember that."

Zabuza then closed his eyes…

XXX

"So Naruto! A-Are you leaving…?" said Inari. He started to sob tears of joy…

The group was outside the village on the mainland out in front of the unfinished bridge; Haku was strung on Kakashi's back still in a coma. There wasn't much to do with Haku besides either leave him or take him by piggy-back; Zabuza in his last words meant for them to probably take him to Konoha for treatment instead of being transported to a Land of Waves hospital which probably wouldn't be able to treat him properly.

"Y-Yeah! You better not forget me!" said Naruto, also sobbing.

"W-Why are you crying you big baby?" said Inari, looking sorry.

"I-I-It's o-okay to cry when you're happy!"

"Jeez! Just shut up." said Sakura, looking to them "I hope Haku will be okay…"

"He'll be fine…" said Kakashi; he looked to Naruto. "Your arm is still pretty badly sprained and infected, Naruto… you might lose it if we don't get medical attention. Anyway… it'll only take a half day or so to get back if we walk at a brisk pace, so let's get to it…"

"Really, how is the girl?" said Tsunami, looking discomposed and anxious.

"The doctor that came by said she wouldn't need a breathing tube until we get back he presumed." said Kakashi with a close-eyed smile. "Tazuna…" he continued, looking more serious; the group looked to him.

"Yes, we've arranged an escort back with a small party of travelers looking to get them most of the way. However much afterward Sakura and Sasuke will have to get directions from the town we passed on the way, which they remember, right?" said Tazuna, looking to the two next to him on his left with a close-eyed smile.

"Yeah, we remember. Now let's just get them out of here." said Sasuke. "Oh, and uh, Naruto; take care."

"Um, sure Sasuke." said Naruto.

They waved and took off in the sunrise, and then epic, scene-out lines appeared in the background…

XXX

Thank you meidapower for following, CruxisRemnants as well for following, then mediapower for also favoriting as well. You help and liking towards this series is much appreciated.

And Muah, you know you're appreciated too.

Bye! Hope you liked the conclusion to this season!


	15. SE: RR, Feats, and PollR

The polls are closed, but okay, just give me a sec to tally the votes. Quickly quickly, to the reviews...

ANY REVIEWS THAT WILL BE ON CHAPTERS POSTED AFTER THE 10TH CHAPTER WILL BE IGNORED; NO OFFENCE, IT'S JUST THAT I WILL NOT HAVE TIME TO COMPLETELY REPLY ON ALL REVIEWS.

I've already PM'ed TheObserver101, stating what I will do with the series pairing-wise.

Muah, I also will reply to your review about the pairings in a minute... but let's get to your last review on Chapter 10.

Thank you anyway for still reading after that filler! It might allow me to edit the complete 2nd chapter out. I also think that total this series will have the same amount of words and chapters that I had said; it will be just broken up into parts. Also, thank you for your patronage and encouragement!

Now is time for the poll results. The pairing will be...

A straight pairing, NaruXHina, who won with 5 votes (one done by me), by 2 votes (one done by me). Even if I didn't count my votes, it would have the winner because InoXNaru and NaruXHaku had 3 votes. The rest had 2 besides FemHakuXNaru which I did sort of did anyway but in a way I didn't plan on and SakuXNaru. I'm sorry Muah... even with all your reviews that I counted as votes, you would only still get 5 for your pairing, 3 of which being yours, so I think voting thrice on a yaoi pairing that tied with the most loved paired would be unfair to my straight audience. I'll do another poll in your favor to make people vote again for their favorite pairing. (I will be putting in the top pairings that I like and excluding Yaoi NaruXHaku since Haku was a girl in the last chapter.)

Oookay... so, feats.

I accomplished a lot in the series; I really loathed the dramatic moments since I felt like they were too dramaqueen-esque... but mah, people didn't say nothin' 'bout them, so I'm good. Anyway... I had some good lines, some good fans to keep me going... those things were nice and good to me. If I could just, yah know, feel a bit more confident about my sentence structure, then I'd be okay I guess. Part of it is not rushing. Have you noticed I can't explain actions very well? But anyway... I hope you have a wonderful time reading season 2.

Okay! This is the completion of the season...

Cya!


	16. NOT A CHAPTER! -New Poll-

My new poll is out, be sure to vote on it!


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